GUIDE TO THE PHILOSOPHY 1938 - 1947.pdf - Rare Books at ...

THEORY OF FASCISM 645
We are now in a position to make the transition from
ethics to politics and to give some account of fascist theories
of State.
IV. THE POLITICAL DOCTRINES
OF FASCISM
The State and the Individual. The fascist theory of
the State is, in effect, the idealist theory described in the
last chapter. This, at least, is true of Italian and German
Fascism, although there are varieties of Fascism, notably
in Spain and Austria, which derive their claim to authority
from thfc Roman Catholic Church, rather than from the
State. These clerical varieties of Fascism sometimes find
themselves in practice in opposition to the State, and
would not in theory be prepared to accept all the con-
clusions of the idealist theory of the State described in
Chapter XV. The main stream of fascist thought incorporates
these conclusions. The State is regarded as a whole
which is more than the sum of its members, and has a
being in its own right which informs that of the members
which it nevertheless transcends. The being of the State
is a moral being; the State has, that is to say, a purpose
to fulfil, and it is the duty of its members to enable it to
fulfil its purpose. Moreover, it is only through the right
performance of their duty to the State that they can fully
develop their own personalities. Thus the being of the
individual is enhanced by service to the State. By co-
operation with his fellows in pursuit of a common purpose
which is greater than his own purpose he develops his
nature and realizes all that he has it in him to be; he
also realizes that in himself which would otherwise remain
unrealized because unrealizable. Thus service to the
Totalitarian State elevates the individual to a higher
plane than that which is attainable in a life devoted to
personal ends. It is a mistake, the fascists would maintain,
to suppose that the mentality of the citizens of the Totali-
tarian State is* slavish. On the contrary, tendencies to